


Welcome to the Bad Boyz Club

by FuckAroundAndFindOut



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Coming Out, Ear Piercings (mentioned), F/M, Falling In Love, Got It?, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Nipple Piercings (mentioned), No Smut, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Roxy Lalonde, Rated T for language, Tongue Piercing (mentioned), Trans Female Character, Trans Female June Egbert, Two Shot, Will turn off comments if yall start actin up, the second chapter is longer and an epilouge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:53:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26606293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuckAroundAndFindOut/pseuds/FuckAroundAndFindOut
Summary: Typical. You try to help break up a fight, and somehow you end up with detention. That’s what happens when you get seen with the school’s local punk. Damn that blond and his reputation.ORJohn and Dave get stuck in detention. Dave is bored. John indulges him.
Relationships: John Egbert/Dave Strider, June Egbert/Dave Strider
Comments: 1
Kudos: 31





	1. Welcome to the Bad Boyz Club

Typical. You try to help break up a fight, and somehow you end up with detention. That’s what happens when you get seen with the school’s local punk. Damn that blond and his reputation.  
“Hey.” Oh perfect, now he wants to try and talk to you. You brush him off and continue doing your homework.  
“Dude, are you doing homework in detention?”  
“Yes,” short and curt. Make it clear you would rather stare at Trigonometry than talk to him.  
“Here I thought you were bad boyz club material,” the blond snaps back.  
“How do you know I’m not?” you ask, staring at Problem 4 on your worksheet.  
“Easy, Only goody-two-shoes do their homework in detention. Bad Boyz Club members socialize.” You take a moment to scan the classroom.  
“There’s no one else here, dingus.” Mrs. Paint, the teacher that was supposed to be watching over you both, had to step out for gog knows what.  
“Still,” the blond pauses, “as a certified member of the Bad Boyz Club, I must socialize.”  
You roll your eyes and look back down at your homework Mrs. Maryam did not hold back with these trig problems. SOH-CAH-TOA, degrees, solve for x, everything starts to blur together.  
“Alright. I’ll indulge you, Shades McGee,” You pull out a scrap piece of paper. “Let’s play 20 questions.” You draw a t-chart, using blue ink for your side and black for his. “I’ll keep track of the questions.” You nod at the punk to go first.  
“Question 1: what is your name, goody-two-shoes?” Thank gog he’s interested.  
“John Egbert. Same question.”  
“Dave Strider,” he responds while you draw one tally on each side of the chart. 1 down, 19 to go.  
“My turn. Favorite color?”  
“Man these are vanilla questions,” Dave responds. “But, if you must know, it’s red” You mark a tally on your side of the chart and look at him.  
“Alright, I can guess your favorite color is blue, as everything you own is the same shade of default blue on a Word Doc. So, what’s your favorite song, Egbert?”  
“Another easy one. Strangers by Halsey.”  
“My sister listens to Halsey. Her shit slaps.”  
“Agreed. My turn.” You pause to look at Dave’s face. You’ve seen it before, but the shine coming from the side of his face catches your attention. “How many piercings do you have?”  
“Well here,” Dave turns to show you his left ear, “is five. And here,” he turns to show his right, “is 6 more. Plus my eyebrow, tongue, and lip make for 14 in total.”  
“Dang, that’s a lot.”  
“Meh. I still have a few more I want. Same question.”  
You hesitate for a moment. Torn between the truth and a lie. You feel the blood rush to your face as you spit out the truth.  
“2.”  
“Bull,” Dave says as he scans your ears and face. “I can’t see any metal anywhere.”  
“You didn't ask where they are,” you respond, smirking.  
“Fuck you, Egbert.”  
“Anyways, my turn.” You ask about something you heard another kid say about Dave Strider. “Is it true you have a smiley face tattoo on your ass?”  
“Damn Egbert. Wanting to see my ass that bad?’  
“To answer your question, no,” you make a slight show of marking a tally on Dave’s side of the chart. He looks at you with a mix of shock and annoyance. “You still have not answered my question, Strider.”  
Dave groans, “Ugh, yes. I do. Satisfied?”  
You smirk, “Extremely. My turn again, since you had to go and waste yours. Do you have a crush on anyone?”  
“Jesus Egbert, what are we? Middle schoolers at a sleepover? Are you going to paint my nails?” You start to answer, but Dave holds up a hand. “You’re not allowed to answer that. I’m not wasting another turn to your asinine rules.” He paused and put his hand down. “To answer your question, however, no. Not currently.” Dang. There go all hopes of blackmail material. “Where are your two piercings?” Dave asks. Right. It is his turn after all.  
Your face reheats.  
“Well? I’m waiting, John.” You mumble the answer under your breath.  
“What?” You mutter a tad louder.  
“Bro speak up.”  
“I SAID MY NIPPLES YOU DOUCHE!” Dave looks shocked. Then he starts blushing. Why is he the flustered one? You’re the one with the piercings.  
After agonizing silence, Dave speaks.  
“You? Mr. Teacher’s pet? Mr. I- Remind-the-teacher-about-homework? You have nipple piercings?”  
“Yes. My turn. Favorite animal?”  
“Boo! Sucky question,” Dave jeers, “I guess snakes are cool.”  
“That’s cool. My cousin works with snakes,” you respond.  
“Oh, who’s your cousin?” Dave asks.  
“Jake English,” you answer, marking a tally.  
“THE Jake English?! Like the dude from Animal Planet?”  
“No, a different Jake English,” you respond sarcastically. “Yes, that Jake English.”  
“That is cool though,” Dave pauses. “I believe it’s your turn?”  
“Nah, learning that is a bit shocking, so I’ll give it a pass.”  
“Thanks, bro,” Dave pauses to think of his question. “Why nipple piercings?”  
Of fucking course.  
Oh well, you’re in this for the long hall. May as well give a straight answer.  
“Part impulse, part spite.” Dave looks at you to explain. “Generally speaking, I dress ‘soft,’” you say adding air quotes, “So when Jake asked if we should get matching piercings, I asked if he wanted to get his nipples done.”  
In all fairness, the memory is nice to look back on, even if both you and Jake did end up crying from pain.  
“THAT’S why his nipples look off!” Dave realizes. “I thought it was because a snake got him.”  
“On both his nipples? In an oddly symmetrical form?” Dave shrugs.  
“Maybe he was holding two snakes,” Dave pulls out a pen from his jacket and marks a tally on your side. You look at him with the face of betrayal.  
“What? If I lose a turn to your asinine rules, you lose one to your rules as well.”  
He does have a point there. All’s fair in detention, you guess.  
“Anyways, since you want to be boring and ask lame-o questions,” Dave states sarcastically, “I’ll have to be the one to and some pepper to your sugar.”  
You look at him with the same face you give your Spanish teacher when she makes the whole lecture in Spanish. Pure confusion.  
Dave clears his throat, “So Egbert… what is your favorite song white people get turnt to?”  
“Dude, that’s a boring-ass question AND you already asked me that.”  
Dave looks offended, but continues, “I asked you what your favorite SONG was. This is different. This is your favorite song that white people get turnt too. There’s a limited number of correct answers here.”  
You roll your eyes. “Mr. Brightside by the Killers, I guess.” Dave smiles in response. You must have done something right.  
“Same question to you.”  
“Hmmmm…” Dave ponders the question for a moment. “Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd.”  
There’s a bit of hesitation before Dave finally breaks the silence.  
“Judging by your silence, I’m going to assume it’s my turn again. So, what’s your favorite planet, real or fictional?”  
Okay, that one is interesting. Space has always fascinated you, but not to the extent that it does your sister. She could tell you nearly everything about astronomy and astrology, which, yes are two different things thank you very much.  
“I’d have to go with Neptune. It’s blue and gaseous, meaning that, theoretically, you would float to travel. The days are shorter, but that can be seen as a good or bad thing depending on who you ask.”  
“Damn Egbert did not expect that kind of response.” You shrug in response.  
“I like to surprise people,” you pause, “Why the bad boy?”  
“Hmm?” Dave seems caught off guard.  
“Why the bad boy? Why have such a notorious reputation? Why land yourself in detention? Why?” The questions flow out of you stream of consciousness style.  
Dave shifts in his seat, opens his mouth, closes it, and repeats the process for what feels like an hour.  
“Okay, okay, okay. I know people like to label me as a ‘bad kid’ just because I go against the grain a bit. It’s not like anyone goes to school with the attention to be a delinquent. All of us intend to be the good kid, or the class clown, or even the jock. Sadly, looks help sort people. I happen to look like this,” he says, gesturing to his attire, “so people assume I’m some type of bad kid. I tried to show people I was smart, and that I just simply like to dress like this because I enjoy the style. It failed. I still try. I do have all A’s and B’s in my classes. People just don’t see that I guess.”  
You just stare at him. The best words to describe how you feel are inspired and surprised. You originally meant to ask those questions inside your head, but you’re kind of glad they slipped out.  
“Why do you follow the rules?” Dave’s statement pulls you out of your daze.  
“Hmmmm?”  
“Why follow the rules to the t? Why not bend the rules a bit?”  
Now it’s your turn to pause. You’ve never really given that topic much thought.  
“Rules are usually put in place to keep something in order. If rules are bent, they can only bend so much before they break. I will admit, some of the rules the school gives us are asinine. Who cares if you show your shoulders or not? But the rules about late work or what not to do in class are there to make sure a form of order can be maintained. If we didn’t have any rules to follow, school would descend into chaos.”  
Dave shakes his head. Not in a way that’s agreeing with you, more of processing what you said kind of nod. He looks like he’s about to ask a question when Mrs. Paint walks back in.  
“Oh hello boys! I didn’t expect you to still be here! The late bus leaves soon, so unless you want to call your parents, I suggest you skedaddle.”  
You know damn well that the late bus does not leave for another half hour, and that technically, detention ends 10 minutes before the late bell. You open your mouth to say something, but end up closing it instead. You clean up your desk and look over at Dave. He’s been ready to go since he got here. You both walk out of the classroom together.  
“Hey,” Dave starts, “I believe we were on question 10, but I never got to ask you anything before you started packing up.” You both turn down the hall. Dave hands you his phone, “So, can I get your number? In like an ‘I wanna be friends with you’ kind of way?”  
“Sure,” you say as you type it in. You hand him his phone. Dave texts you immediately to make sure you have his number.  
You open the doors and sit out on the benches. It’s a mild day, with a slight breeze. You pull out the t-chart and mark two tallies, bringing both your totals to 10 questions each.  
“Dave? I still have one question to ask, just to make sure we're even.”  
“Shoot.”  
“Am I a member of the Bad Boyz Club now?”  
Dave only nodded in response.


	2. Epilouges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 :)

Some time has passed since that day in detention. Back then, Dave Strider was the rough and tough bad boy. You distinctly remember pushing him to take up a sport. Figure if people are not going to look at him for his smarts, maybe they will look at him for his athletic prowess.   
Turns out Dave had a knack for lacrosse. Maybe it was a way to help him avoid picking fights where they would land him in trouble. Maybe it was the sprinting up and down the field. Whatever it was, despite joining sophomore year, Dave had somehow worked his way up into the varsity roster.   
As an athlete yourself, you were happy to get another friend into athletics. Most of your other friends were largely theatre kids, which means the only time you got to see them was at the beginning of the day, and for 10 minutes before practice starts. Volleyball conditioning always started in the middle of the first semester, and that ran into track season, which ran until the end of the year (more or less).   
This caused you and Dave to grow closer. Lacrosse is a spring sport, and practice was at the same time as yours, so you chatted in the locker room before going into the weight room. Usually, all the sports that are in season or conditioning lift at one of two times, and most teams opt for the first. Naturally, you and Dave would partner up. Dave may have been able to out bench you, but you could out squat him. 

He asked you out after a track meet in the middle of junior year. You had just jumped 6’8”, a new personal best. It landed you second overall, mostly because it took you two tries to clear the height and the other guy cleared it on the first try. Neither of you could clear the next height, so the person with the least amount of tries got first.   
You walked up to him after the 4X800, cheering on your distance team as they cinch first for the team.   
“Hey,” you say as you mildly jog up towards him.  
“Sup?”   
“Oh you know, sweating like a pig,” you respond ever gracefully. That earns a chuckle from Dave.   
“Well, maybe you could be less sweaty this Saturday? Around 7 pm?” Dave starts to flush and puts his hand behind his head.   
“Dave?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Are you asking me on a date?”  
“.... are you going to say no?”  
“No,” you pause. “I would love to go on a date with you this Saturday. What did you have planned?”  
“I was thinking dinner and a movie? Can’t go wrong with a classic.” You nod in agreement.   
“Text me the detes babe,” you call back to him as you return to the turf for your stuff.  
“No one says ‘detes’ anymore Eggderp!”  
You finally tell him a semester into college. Dave is pursuing a degree in Economics and you’re pursuing a major in Chemistry with a minor in Film. You both are going to the local state school because Dave got a full ride and it was the cheapest option for you. It also helped that you were dating for a year beforehand, and you really wanted to go to college with your boyfriend.   
You and Dave live in the same building and same floor, but not the same room. He’s down the hall. Fine by you, gives you an excuse to meet new people. There are interesting people on the gender-inclusive floor.   
For example, your roommate, Rose, is a character. As soon as she got your contact information, she asked for your sun, moon, and ascending signs. You didn’t know what those were at first, but Google is free and it was an easy find. After that information, she told you that she is going for a major in Psychology with a concentration in Social Psych.  
Dave’s roommate, Jade, asked him about plants and models. Apparently she is going for a major in Nuclear Engineering with a minor in Botany. She was planning on bringing a few small houseplants to liven up the dull dorm room. She and Dave even joked about how crisp the oxygen will be in their room.

You are not going to lie, the first semester of classes kicked your ass.   
“That’s what you get for being a STEM major,” Dave jokes with you.  
“Ok econ bro,” you fire back. You are on a date with him for the first time in a month and a half. Sure, you all hung out while at college, but usually Jade, Rose, or others tagged along. Granted, it was a good time, but you just wanted Dave to yourself. Especially for what you’re about to tell him.   
You take a sip of water. You pop your knuckles. You shift in your seat.  
“Dude,” you look up, “are you okay?”  
“Yeah, I’m fine,” sounding not fine at all. Your voice has a waver and you’re sweating a bit. Dave gives you a look.   
“Okay, you caught me,” you say, throwing your hands up in surrender. “I do have something to tell you.”  
“Are you pregnant?” Dave asks.   
“What? No.”  
“Okay good. I thought you were about to tell me you were having an affair and got pregnant.” You laugh a bit at that. A sense of ease washes over you.   
“In all seriousness though, what’s up?” Dave asks, leaning onto the table between you.   
“Well, I…” you start. “Dave, I….”  
Damn this is harder than you thought. You take a deep breath.  
“Dave, I’m trans.”   
“Shit dawg me too.”  
You look at him in shock and confusion.   
“Well, probably not in the way you’re thinking, and that is a conversation for later because this is about you. So, carry on.” He gestures for you to continue.   
“Well, I kind of realized it at the end of senior year. Amazing how Google and answer most queer-ies,” you giggle a bit at the pun. Dave rolls his eyes. “I guess if you could just call me June and use she/her, that would be stellar.”   
“No problemo sweetheart,” he responds, taking your hand in his.   
Dinner is lovely that night. 

That brings us to the present. You and Dave have graduated from college and maintain close contact with Jade and Rose. There was this other guy, Karkat, that Dave met in one of his English classes, and he was a trip. You never knew one person could hold so much anger in a body. There’s also Rose’s girlfriend, Kanaya, that you’ve gotten to know well enough. Jade’s girlfriend, Nepeta, is a tad out in left field, but that’s part of her appeal.   
You took your degree in Chemistry and now work as a Research and Development chemist at a solar panel company. Dave, on the other hand, was a TA once and decided to become a professor. Dr.Strider now teaches at the same university he attended.   
Today is Friday, and it’s time for your date. While you and Dave have been dating for a few years now and living together for just over half of your relationship, you still make a point to have weekly dates. Dave planned this one.   
He told you to dress nicely, so you are wearing a light blue dress. It has a button-up top until just above your navel, and you kind of look like a Victorian ghost from the waist up. The bottom half is a standard flowy skirt and ends mid-shin. You think it is supposed to end closer to your ankles, but the length gives you an excuse to wear boots. Like now. You slip on your grey Doc Martens with tall white socks that have frills at the top. You and Dave took a day and put beads on each other's shoelaces, so your grey Doc’s have red and blue beads on them. The left says “reactants” and the right says “products.” You’re still slightly mad that his way to help you distinguish left from right is the way you write a forward reaction in chemistry. You accessorize with silver bracelets and silver dangle earrings with moons on them.   
Despite the fact that you’ve literally seen him naked, Dave insisted on using separate rooms to get ready. Like the gentleman he is, he gave you your shared room while he got ready in the guest room.   
“It will be a dramatic reveal,” Dave argued as he pushed you into your room.   
“Don’t you need your clothes?” you asked.  
“Already took what I'm going to wear tonight into the other room. Be sure to dress nice!” and then he closed the door.   
The conversation replays in your mind as you put on a more natural makeup look. Dave normally insists on you helping him pick out his outfit for date nights.  
“June, if you don’t help me, I will go out in my Spiderman PJ pants and Batman t-shirt. Do you want your boyfriend to look like that in public?”   
By the time you’re finished with your makeup, it is 7:45. Perfect. Dave said to be ready at 8.   
You pack your white mini-backpack with all the essentials. Lipgloss for touch-ups, chapstick for Dave (would it kill him to remember his own?), tissues, various writing utensils, a hair tie, a few bobby pins, a charger, your phone, your wallet and your surprise for Dave. You’re still kind of shocked he has not found it yet.  
When you leave your room, Dave is waiting in the living room. Chilling on the couch, playing his 3DS. He’s dressed in a black suit with a red dress shirt underneath. His shoes may be dressy, but his socks are obviously the knee highs you got him. Goku’s face is stretched over your boyfriend’s calf. It makes you chuckle a bit. He turns to face you and you both flush.   
Dave looks so handsome with all his piercings in. Especially when they all match his outfit.   
“Junebug, you look absolutely beautiful.”   
“You’re not too bad yourself, Strider,” you say jokingly.  
“You like it? Rose helped me pick all the pieces. Well, most of them.”  
“The socks your choice?” Dave nods in response and stands up off the couch. He extends his hand to you.  
“Shall we milady?”

A short drive in Dave’s car later, you’re at your favorite Italian place. He even opens the door for you. You hold hands all the way in.   
“Hi, Reservation for Strider,” Dave says to the hostess. She taps around on the tablet in front of her before smiling at you.   
“Right this way,” she gestures for you to follow her.   
Your table is maybe the most romantic in the entire restaurant. It’s near the back and is candle-lit. Fake candles, but the atmosphere is there. The music is significantly quieter back here, as compared to the rest of the restaurant. You sit across from each other.   
“Your server will be right with you,” the hostess disappears after placing your menus on the table.   
“Dang, walked so fast we didn’t even get to say thank you,” Dave remarks.  
“In all fairness, they were a tad busy tonight. The line was nearly out the door!”  
“Yeah, glad I got us a reservation.”  
“Me too, waiting to eat two hours later than normal made me SUPER hungry!” you say drawing out the ‘super’ for emphasis. As if on cue, your server arrives.   
“Hello, my name is Ellis and I will be helping you both tonight. Any drinks to start?”  
Dave speaks first, “Yes, a bottle of Pinot Noir, two glasses.” Oh, Dave was planning on spoiling you tonight.   
“Of course sir, will that be the chef’s choice with the meal or?”  
“Yes.”  
“Got it. Now, if you both will show me your IDs,” you and Dave pull out your IDs without hesitation. Your name has been, legally speaking, been June for years. God that process was a bitch and a half.   
“Perfect! I’ll get that right out for you!” and the server leaves. You look at the menu, for the first time, and realize something.  
“Hey babe,” you ask Dave.  
“What is it?”  
“Why is the menu only drinks and dessert?”  
“You caught me Juniper,” Dave says, hands in the air. “This is not an ordinary visit to Vita Provolone. I got us their special lovebirds table, and I had to choose what we ate beforehand.” He reaches across the table to grab your hand, “Hope you don’t mind.”  
You smile. “Dave, I trust you to know what I like and dislike at this point. Not to mention what I’m allergic to. So as long as you did not order me a large plate of peanuts, mushrooms, and onions, I think we’ll be good.”  
“Oh shit, I gotta tell the chef to remake the whole meal,” Dave says sarcastically. You both chuckle before the server returns with the wine. 

Dinner is amazing. Dave got you your favorite, lasagna, while he ate his favorite, the twice-baked ziti. You both opt to skip on dessert when the server asks if you will have any. You try and take the bill before Dave can, but you fail miserably. Damn food coma. You opt for a slight glare as Dave slips his card into the bill. He turns to you as the server takes the check.   
“Juney, you up for a walk in the park?”  
“Depends. Which one?”  
“Belladonna.” You nod immediately. Your favorite park too? Dave is pulling out all the stops. You know that park so well, you know the perfect spot to have Dave sit and then you can give him his surprise. 

More driving later, you arrive at Belladonna Park. Overall, it’s not that large, but there’s a nice spot near the back to just sit.   
The minute you step out of the car you realize how cold it gets without the sun. You shiver.   
Next thing you know, there’s a weight on your shoulders. Dave’s suit jacket.   
“Honey, aren’t you freezing?” you ask your lovely boyfriend.   
“Nah. I have sleeves. I’ll be fine. You, on the other hand,” he stands next to you and wraps his arm around your waist, “will complain about how chilly it is until I forfeit my jacket. So, I cut out the middle step.”  
“My knight in shining armor,” you fake swoon. Dave chuckles.   
“Come on, let’s walk, you dork,” offering his arm to you. 

“Hey, why don’t we sit here?” you ask Dave when you finally approach the spot.   
“Sure.” You both head over to sit on the bench. A comfortable silence grips you two as you stare at the sky, framed by trees and bushes.  
Just as you’re about to speak, Dave asks something that takes you by surprise.  
“Hey, remember when we played twenty questions?”  
“Back in high school? Yeah. Why?”  
“Well,” Dave starts, before producing the same piece of scrap paper you used that day, “I believe it was my turn.”  
A mix of amazement and confusion grips you.   
“Question 11, are you having fun tonight?” Dave asks as you just stare slack-jawed at him. “Careful June, you’re going to catch bugs if you keep your mouth open.”  
Well shit. There goes your smooth plan of seducing Dave. You know what, you can work with this. You close your mouth, cross your legs, and turn towards him.   
“Yes, Dave, I am enjoying myself. Thank you for asking.” He smiles and makes a tally. He looks at you. “Ok, my turn. How do you still have that paper?”  
“You actually dropped it in the hall one day. I found it, and I was going to recycle it, but something told me I should keep it. So, I did.”  
You are about to ask another question, but then you remember the way you two play this game and close it again.   
“How was work sweetie?” Dave asks, marking a tally. You giggle slightly at the question.   
“Oh, you know, the normal. Did have some new kid drop some test samples though. This is why I always insist on making two of everything to test. Klutzes run amok in the lab,” you say, wiggling your fingers in a creepy way. Dave laughs at your gesture, which makes you laugh because god damn his laugh is contagious.   
After calming down, you say, “Same question,” pulling a pen out of your purse to make a tally.   
“Had some kid try and pass off another kid's paper as his own. I tell these kids to write a 250-300 word paragraph on the stock market, enough that they can go into detail and tell me how it works, but not too long that I lose interest,” you laugh at that. You’ve helped Dave grade Multiple Choice tests before. After hour 2, you had to tap out. He did really appreciate your help. Teaching a required credit for all students is not a feat for the faint of heart.   
“So June, did you get your nipples redone?” Motherfucker. You knew this was going to come up. Dave has a sixth sense for piercings. He could tell when you had your belly button done before you showed him.   
“Yes. Did you finally get yours pierced?” you ask. Dave has been talking about getting his pierced ever since he learned yours were pierced in high school. You decided to take them out when you got top surgery, and you kind of missed them. Hence the getting them redone bit. You thought you had him.  
“Actually yes. I got them done yesterday.” Your eyes widen. And now you're curious, what other secret piercings has he had done?  
“Have you heard from Jake yet?” Dave’s question snaps you out of your daze.  
“Yes.” You smirk at him as he gestures for you to go on. “You asked if I heard from him, not what he said.  
“God damn it Egderp!”  
“Speaking of, how’s your sibling, Roxy?”  
“They’re doing very well actually. Them and their partner, Callie, recently bought a place together. They invited us to come visit them anytime.” You nod. Roxy lives in New York, and you’re in Texas. Your extended family is all the way in Washington, meanwhile, Dave’s is a few hours away. Considering how the Strilonde household has always lived in warm weather places, you’re shocked Roxy would go far north.   
“How did Jake say he was doing?’   
“He said his last date went well. Who would’ve known your cousin would end up meeting my cousin through a movie shoot?” As soon as the words leave your mouth, you regret it. Dave marks a tally for you with a smirk. “God damn it, Strider.” He shrugs in response.   
“Thoughts on a tongue piercing?” he asks.   
You think for a moment. “Hot. That concludes my thoughts.” You put two and two together. Well, it is your turn.  
“Did you get a tongue piercing, Dave? Give me a straight answer, please,” you say in the calmest tone possible.   
Dave sticks out his tongue and yep, there’s a silver ball in the middle of the muscle. You definitely do not feel hot and bothered by that. Nope, not at all. You’re just shifting because of the cold.   
“Well, someone is clearly a fan,” even in your weakest moments, Dave still teases you. “Do you find it attractive though?”  
“Well considering I just said I think tongue piercings are hot, and the fact that I find you attractive, I’m surprised I’m not having an anime-esque nose bleed right now.” Dave smiles.   
“Good to know,” is all he says.   
You glance over at the paper to see it’s your turn. There’s something that you’ve been wanting to ask about for a minute now, and now’s a better time than ever.  
“Have you been stocking the fridge with apple juice?”  
Dave freezes. He purses his lips. Paused mid tally. You plead with your eyes for him to answer.   
“June, baby, I love you,” you nod, “but the only thing that rivals my love for you is my love for apple juice.”  
“So yes, you did stock the fridge. Got it. I don’t care, I just was slightly concerned someone else was sneaking apple juice into our house.”  
“Why?” You reach over and mark a tally.  
“Because you and Karkat snuck all those romcoms into the house not that long ago. Had to make sure a similar prank was not taking place.”  
“Yeah, because you’re the pranking expert,” Dave says half sarcastically. He’s been around you during April Fools. He knows Dadbert didn’t raise no bitch.   
“Can I hold your hand?” you ask. It is your turn after all.  
“Of course,” Dave offers his hand to yours. “Jesus! Your hands are freezing!”  
“Ahahaha! You’re stuck with my cold hands now!” you joke.   
“This is how I die. Holding my girlfriend’s cold hands while she has my jacket. Harsh.” You both start laughing at that.   
“Do you mind if I get up, though? It’s important for the next question.” Dave seems nervous about the last question.  
You sigh as you release his hand, “I guess,” You mark a tally down the paper for Dave.   
“Do you want me to stand?” you ask Dave. You have a feeling you know where this might be headed. If that’s the case, this is either going to be romantic or a really funny coincidence.   
“Uhhh yeah go ahead and stand up.” He guides you to stand in front of him, fingers intertwined. You can see your reflection in his shades, along with the sky behind you. The stars are caught in his shades. You slide them up his head to rest in his platinum blond hair.   
“Your eyes are so pretty.” You say that every time you see his eyes, yet it still catches him off guard. It’s cute how his cheeks flush a bit. He shakes his head and stands up straight.   
“June Tara Egbert, you have made me the happiest person ever. I feel my best around you. I feel as if I could tell you anything. You kill all the spiders in the house. Really, I don’t know what I would do without you. That’s why, for my final question, I have to know,” Dave gets down on one knee. If you were smiling before, you’re now beaming. You are doing the cheesy movie trope where the girl puts her hand over her mouth. Dave pulls out a tiny black box and pops it open.  
“Will you marry me?”  
“You asshat!” is how you respond. Dave looks at you shocked. You walk back over to your bag and grab your surprise for Dave.   
“That was my line!” you say as you open the box. Now it's Dave’s turn to be beaming.   
“David Elizabeth Strider,” you meet him on your knee and hold the box to him, “will you marry me?”  
“I asked first, Junie B. Jones.” Damn Strider. Always wanting to stick by the rules.   
“Yes! You?”  
“Yes!”  
You fumble with the rings a bit, but eventually, you get them on and look at them side by side. Okay, maybe you smooched a bit while trying. A lot a bit.  
Your fiancé walks you back to your car.  
Your fiancé walks you back to the front door of your shared house.   
Your fiancé gets ready to go to bed with you.  
Your fiancé cuddles you before you both fall asleep.  
Your fiancé, soon to be husband, feels like home.


End file.
